Petulance Never Pays
by FrostyFingers
Summary: Just as she was about to open her mouth, a tall, dark skinned woman with spiky hair rushed up to them. "Raymond? Raymond Reddington?" He was nonplussed for a moment and couldn't seem to get his mouth to work. "Oh my God, it really is you!" Before he knew it, the woman had enveloped him in a tight hug. - Jealous Lizzie will be part of this.


**AN:** Alright, this is super AU and crazy, but after watching James see the video of Leslie Jones and how she told him that she loved him - she's one of us! - this needed to be done. redisthenewblackington was very encouraging also! Special thanks to my mate for helping me out with her teacher-like annotations. I also have no idea whether this is going to be a one-shot or not, we'll see.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own anything, butI freaking love Leslie Jones!

 **Petulance Never Pays**

"I wonder why we never meet at my place anymore. Or your new one for that matter, I still haven't seen it," Red said as he walked up to where she was standing next to a bench.

Liz just rolled her eyes, not gracing him with a reply.

He came to a stop next to her. "Good morning to you, too."

Wrapping her arms around her middle to shield herself from the cold, Liz shifted her weight from one leg to the other. "You're late."

He raised a brow. "I see. You should have told me you haven't had your coffee today, I would have brought you some. And I'm not late, I'm _never_ late. Well, not when we meet- I'd never leave you waiting, sweetheart. Goodness, I forgot how grouchy you are without your caffeine fix."

"I'm not grouchy!" She protested, glaring at him.

"Right. Shall we?" He gestured towards the unoccupied bench.

"Can we walk? It's a little cold."

Red nodded. "We can always go to that little café you like so much." She shook her head. "The car perhaps?"

"I'm fine. Can you drop it now?"

She really was grouchy this morning. He had thought they were finally past this. They had been rather close during, and even after their time on the run. She had stopped being angry with him and didn't mind if he touched her, sometimes even initiating contact herself. Dinners and late night talks had been frequent and she would always sit pressed up against him, sometimes even falling asleep against him.

He had never said anything and did everything to not make her feel weird in the morning. His heart soared at the thought that she craved this closeness as much as he did. But as suddenly as the intimacy had started, it had ended again when one morning he woke without any recall of the previous night's events, and found her gone.

Unfortunately he didn't get the chance to see her before he had to leave for business and things had changed for the worse when he returned two weeks later. She barely answered his calls and would always tell him how busy she was consulting for the task force. He wasn't stupid, he knew exactly when there was any consulting to do. He was the one who handed the FBI those criminals after all. But if she needed some alone time, he would give it to her. They had spent a lot of time together in close quarters and in a high stress environment. It wasn't unusual for her to be needing space now. There was no need for her to be so petulant though.

"Can I at least give you my coat? Your lips are turning bl –" he broke off when she through another angry glare into his direction. "Never mind." Red pushed his hands into his coat pockets and continued walking. If there was something she wanted to discuss, she would have to start the conversation. When she proceeded to stay quiet for the following five minutes, Red decided to hurry this along. "Alright, Lizzie. You wanted to meet. What is it that you wanted to talk about that couldn't be discussed over the phone?"

He hadn't meant it to sound quite so blunt, but that was how she had heard it. "If meeting with me is such a bother, we can just call it quits altogether."

"That's not what I was saying. Not at all." Red took a calming breath. She was tense so he had to tread carefully. "Just… if this is too important to be talked about in a phone call, you should maybe just tell me now. I want you to feel comfortable telling me anything, Lizzie".

She stopped in her tracks and he halted just a few seconds after that, turning to look at her. There was something wrong, but he couldn't place it; it was getting to him.

Just as she was about to open her mouth, a tall, dark skinned woman with spiky hair rushed up to them. "Raymond? Raymond Reddington?" He was nonplussed for a moment and couldn't seem to get his mouth to work. "Oh my God, it really is you!" Before he knew it, the woman had enveloped him in a tight hug.

Dembe looked alarmed and was about to step in when Red waved him off. "Why, hello. I am sorry, but do I know you?" He asked with a charming smile as she pulled away.

"Not yet, handsome, but I know you," she said, offering her hand. "Leslie Jones, and it's so wonderful to meet you!"

Red gladly took it and made a show of touching his lips to the back of it. "And it's an absolute pleasure to meet you, Ms. Jones."

The woman's grin widened. "Please call me Leslie."

"Raymond," he replied. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Liz standing off to the side, arms crossed and a sour look on her face, which had been there before and had only turned angrier.

He gently touched the woman's arm. "How can I help you, Leslie?"

"I forgot my manners. I'm sorry for interrupting you and your…"

"Oh, my business partner and I were just taking a break," he replied, without looking at Liz.

Leslie's eyes sparkled as she looked at the man in front of her. "I saw you on TV and have done some light reading since. When I saw you walking by I just had to talk to you. Your mug shot does no justice whatsoever to the real thing." She fanned herself. "I think that my obsession for you might be a little unhealthy, but I love you. I love everything about you. You are a kooky little white man, and oh my god, you have a stunning smile!"

A laugh bubbled up in Red's throat and he couldn't stop it before it left his lips.

"Even your laugh is sexy," she cooed, making mooneyes at him. "I know I'm being real forward here, but sometimes you have just got to take chances. So, I'm just gonna scribble down my phone number and if you would like to meet, you just give me a call."

Oh, the woman was good for his ego, not that he needed a boost, but every man loved this kind of attention.

"That sounds like a splendid idea, my dear." He accepted the piece of paper and shot her another smile.

Leslie looked off to the side. "You've got to stop smiling at me like that, I'm developing heart arrhythmia."

Red chuckled in response. "We can't have that."

"Alright, I don't want to be a bother any longer."

"Oh, you're anything but."

"I'll leave you to your business now."

"I'm looking forward to meeting you again, Leslie." He leaned in and kissed both of her cheeks.

"Me too, Raymond, me too," she replied and started walking away, looking back once or twice.

He waited until she was out of sight and then pocketed the piece of paper with the number on it, smiling to himself.

"Wait, you're not actually going to call her?" Liz asked, in slight disbelief.

She had been quiet during the whole exchange, too stunned to say or do anything. Then he had made it crystal clear where they stood. She was his business partner, nothing else.

"I haven't ruled it out," Red answered, a smug look on his face. "Alright, shall we continue our discussion?"

Her throat felt like it was closing up and to her horror she could actually feel tears pricking at the back of her eyes. There was no way she would be able to do this now, or ever for that matter. Without another word, Liz turned on her heel and quickly made her way out of the park.

"Lizzie? Lizzie!"

 **LizzingtonLizzingtonLizzington**

Since the former FBI agent once again ignored his calls, Red decided to have dinner with the woman that actually wanted his attention. He called Leslie, who was more than excited to hear his voice. It was nice to know that there were people who didn't despise him. His heart was heavy when he thought of Liz. They had made so much progress and now they were back to square one. He missed her dearly and wished that she was more like Leslie. But actually just in regards of her excitement to spend time with him. Either way, Leslie seemed like a fairly nice person and he hated dining alone.

About a week later Red and Liz were sitting in a small hole in the wall place discussing their next Blacklister, an open manila folder with photos on the coffee table in front of them, another on her lap, when Dembe walked into the room.

"Raymond, this came for you. Do you want me to open it?"

"No, thank you my friend, I've got it." He opened the envelope and peered inside, before taking out a letter. After quickly scanning the words, he once again reached inside the envelope and took out a couple of photos.

The second Liz saw them, her body went rigid. The nerve of that woman! How dare she ask Red out and then even take pictures with him. Not even Liz had any pictures of them together and was he smiling? Her breath was knocked from her lungs when he flipped to the next photo. A shot of him kissing the smiling woman on the cheek. She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. And she wanted to hit the son of a bitch, that was playing her like a violin. But most of all she wanted to strangle the woman that took her man.

His chuckle drew her out of her thoughts and she stood, the manila folder falling from her lap, its contents spilling on the floor. He looked up at her, a confused expression on his face but she ignored him as she hastily put on her coat, leaving her scarf where it was. It was the scarf he had given to her and she didn't want to have it anymore.

"Is everything alright?" He asked. "Lizzie?"

She didn't reply and instead slammed the door on her way out.


End file.
